Books by Sayadaw U Silananda

Short Biography

The Ven. Sayadaw U Silananda (1927-2005) was born in Mandalay, Burma. He became a novice monk in 1943; four years later he received higher ordination. A natural scholar, by 1948 he had passed all three of the Government Pali examinations. In the next six years he received two more advanced scholarly degrees. In 1954-56 he served as one of the distinguished editors of the Tipitaka and Commentaries at the Sixth Buddhist Council in Rangoon. In 1979 he traveled to the US with Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw to teach meditation and Dhamma, after which he stayed on to continue teaching. He served as Spiritual Advisor of the Theravada Buddhist Society of America and was Spiritual Director of four other Buddhist centers across the country. He passed away peacefully on 13 August 2005.

Sayadaw U Silananda Books and Articles

Anatta is a Pali word consisting of a negative prefix, "an" meaning not, plus atta, soul, and is most literally translated as no-soul. The word atta, however, has a wide range of meanings, and some of those meanings cross over into the fields of psychology, philosophy, and everyday terminology, as, for example, when atta can mean self, being, ego, and personality. Therefore, we will examine and elucidate the wide range of meanings which atta can signify in order to determine exactly what the Buddha denied when He proclaimed that He teaches anatt?, that is, when He denied the existence of atta. We will examine both Buddhist and non-Buddhist definitions of the term soul, and we will also examine modern definitions of terms such as ego and self.

What is kamma? The Buddha said: “Oh monks, it is volition that I call kamma.” The popular meaning of kamma is action or doing, but as a technical term, kamma means volition or will. When you do something, there is volition behind it, and that volition, that mental effort, is called kamma. The Buddha explained that, having willed, one then acts through body, speech, and mind. Whatever you do, there is some kind of kamma, mental effort, will, and volition. Volition is one of the fifty-two mental states which arise together with consciousness.